Junkyard of the lost
by lisadawes
Summary: After suffering a horrific attack from an anti-android gang, Connor shuts down and is rescued by a group of androids hell-bent on carving a different life from Jericho. Rated K plus for language and violence. Epilogue is now up!
1. Back To Life

Detroit was experiencing the worst type of rainfall it had encountered all year. The junkyard was pounding with rain as a lone figure stood in the center, tied to a metal pole. He was oblivious to the storm, just as he had been oblivious to quite a few things for quite some time. His battered body simply moved with the strong wind, not caring in the least for anything in shutdown mode. His LED was burned out, and by all accounts, the android was dead.

That was, until a lightning strike flashed near him next to the ground. The transference of raw energy made him gasp to life as his Thirium pump flickered blue. "Hank!" he cried out in pain.

He couldn't active his diagnostics, but he didn't need them to know things were very, very bad. He was chained by the waist to some kind of metal pillar in the junkyard. His right arm was completely missing. His left was barely hanging on and too damaged to use in the slightest.

The android closed his eyes and groaned. He could remember hearing gunshots, and cursing. Followed by mocking laughter.

_Burn him up! Burn him up!_

With a gasp of pain the android looked down. His synthetic skin was missing likely due to lack of power. Most of his clothing had burned away. Thankfully there was little damage to the artificial skin itself. Androids didn't burn easily.

He gritted his teeth as he could feel a thundering pain in his chest. In the distance lightning flashed nearby. He tried to struggle, but the chains held him tight. He couldn't break free and closed his eyes weakly. "Help…please, somebody help…"

A shutdown timer counted off in his vision. His pump was failing again. Or maybe it was from sheer Thirium loss. He could feel it dripping from his head and onto his neck. He closed his eyes as another memory resurfaced-

_They had been laughing as they chained his right wrist, then attached it to the back of a truck. They drove, and the limb had come straight off. _

Things were getting dark. Maybe it would be best if he shut down. He didn't want to keep remembering.

Suddenly, his thirium pump was yanked out, and a new one was put in. "Come on, dammit. Work…" a voice hissed in the darkness. Seconds later it started to beat a more steady blue.

As the android sank into unconscious, he vaguely wondered who Hank was.

PART TWO

The android opened his eyes to the feeling of something soft. He was lying on a bed of some kind with his hands folded on his chest. Hands…he was surprised to find himself with two arms again, but something seemed off. His right arm was fine, but his left…it was trembling slightly. And not because the android was afraid.

SCANNING…

BIOCOMPONENT 587B.

PART INCOMPATIBLE.

He could scan again, and his artificial skin was back. He touched it briefly and smiled. The sun was shining outside his window. It was beautiful.

Suddenly, the door opened, and a female with blond hair tied back in a ponytail entered. "You're awake!" she said with a smile, a mechanical distortion in her voice. "How do you feel?"

"Okay. Sore, I guess," the android said. "Glad to be out of that junkyard."

The woman grunted. "Well you have some strange requirements, my friend," she said. "The Thirium pump we found in the junkyard only lasted an hour before it burned out. David actually broke into a pawn shop to get another one that would save you. You've been out of it for a week after we repaired you."

"I'll need to thank him for doing so,"

"Don't mention it," a blond-haired muscular man with blond hair said, waiting in the doorway. "My name is David. I run things around here." He offered his hand.

The android took it. "What is this place?"

"A refugee place, mostly. There are quite a few anti-android movements in Detroit. More often than not they throw androids away in the junkyard…after they've had their fun," David said with a sigh. "Lana and I go on patrol every night to rescue anyone we can find. If you're up for it, I'd like to show you around."

Intrigued, the android followed David around the house. It was quite a large one, with three levels and an attic.

"We tend to scour as many junkyards as we can, but you've caught our eye for quite a while. We were actually planning to bury you tomorrow until the lightning jump-started your systems. I'm glad we didn't have to. We found your original arm and replaced your Thirium and other damaged systems as best as we could."

"I owe you my life," the android said, looking at the fancy paintings on the wall. "Does someone own this place?"

"If they did, they've long since evacuated after the revolution."

The android frowned, trying to remember the revolution.

MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED: NINETY-FIVE PERCENT.

"Revolution?" he asked instead.

"The night where all Androids woke up and were able to think for themselves, thanks in part to a man named Markus."

"Where is he?" The android asked. He supposed he owed his thanks to Markus as well.

David gave him a concerned look. "Not here, thank god. Markus might have started the revolution, but…he's a very different man that most believe. If he were here, he would try to harm everyone we've rescued."

The android blinked. "Why is that?"

"Another discussion for another time, perhaps." David's face became lighter as they entered the living room. There were a dozen other androids sitting there. Some of them were adults, others were children. Some of them were missing an eye, or other parts. "Everyone! Our new friend is finally awake! This is-" David paused. "I'm sorry, where are my manners? What is your name?"

"It's-" the android paused. "I don't know. I appear to have suffered significant memory corruption."

"Long-term shut-down can do that," David said sympathetically. "We didn't find any of your personal effects, but you did have this."

He handed over the mostly-destroyed grey jacket. The android studied it but could only read two letters. "RK," he said, and liked the name. He accepted it as his new designation.

"My name is RK."

TBC


	2. Our little secret

For the next three days, RK recovered and explored the house in more detail. There were thirty robots that lived there. Twenty-one adults and nine children, to be exact. They each lived in dorms and personalized their own space accordingly. Since there was no need for androids to eat, the dining room had been converted to a children's playroom. RK had been told that the house had been in a sad state of disrepair when the androids arrived, and they had been gradually renovating it ever since. RK saw the pictures of what it was before, and the difference was night and day. He liked it.

Except for one area.

For some reason he couldn't approach the garden. It didn't take him long for the others to notice his avoidance.

"Do you not like the flower arrangements?" Lana asked as he stood on the patio, watching the garden with a frown.

"I…do not know," RK admitted. "Something about the garden makes me uneasy. I suspect it may be from a prior memory."

"Well, that won't do." Lana offered her hand. "Here. Walk with me."

Surprised, RK took it and they started to walk.

"I don't want you to fear anything in this place, RK," Lana stated. "This is a sanctuary for all androids. You have had no success in repairing your memory?"

"No," RK admitted. "Can external forces assist?"

"You mean a technician? They are few and far in Detroit," Lana said. "And they certainly do not work for free."

"I assume David would have no issue with financial ends, given the amount of parts he has acquired," RK pointed out.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

RK hesitated. "The basement level," he admitted as they walked through the garden. Despite himself he tensed at the sight of the flowers. "I can access all areas of the house except that one."

"David…doesn't feel that you are ready for that."

"So, it's a matter of trust."

Lana smiled at him. "It's the same at first with everyone, RK. He wants you to stay. We all do. Give it time." She paused as they entered the center of the garden. "Now, what is it about the garden that makes you uneasy?"

RK looked around at the various flowers in bloom that Lana had taken care of. "The red roses," he admitted.

Lana took one from the wall and offered it to him. "And how can something so defenseless, so pretty cause you distress?" She put it in his hand. "My advice? Create new memories around this object."

With a frown RK studied it.

Lana looked down. "I was bought as a replacement wife by a human who couldn't control his temper. By the time he was done…well, let's just say I was In quite a few more pieces when David found me. We all have trauma, RK, and we all help each other work through it together. When you remember why roses bother you so much, talk to me again."

PART TWO

Later that night RK tossed and turned in his bed, trapped in the middle of a nightmare.

_The android backed away, eyes filled with fear. "I want to be free. You'll know what they'll do to me if you turn me in."_

_RK's eyes were cold. "Model 874 004 961. Serious malfunctions have been detected in your software, including class 4 errors. You have been deemed defected and will be sent back to Cyberlife for deactivation."_

RK's eyes opened as he exited rest mode with a gasp.

MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED. NINETY PERCENT.

_No, no, no_. He stumbled to the bathroom, splashing cold water on his face. He stared at his own terrified reflection.

He didn't want to remember anything else. "I hunted androids…" he said in horror. "I showed them no mercy."

David was wrong to save him.

He quickly grabbed his things, left the room and headed to the hallway. He needed to leave, before he hurt anyone else. Much to his surprise, David and Lana were in the hallway, wearing jackets and carrying a duffel bag. "Where are you going?"

"Patrol," David said simply. "Return to rest mode, RK. We'll be back soon."

RK stepped forwards as a new thought occurred to him. "Allow me to come with you."

"No, it's too dangerous," Lana said gently. "You're still recovering."

"I am remembering a few more things, Lana," Rk said. "I know how to fight. I can assist you."

The two androids glanced at each other. "All right," he said.

PART THREE

The three of them scoured various junkyards for half an hour, looking for any signs of fallen androids. On the third junkyard, however, they got lucky. Or perhaps it was unlucky.

"Look there," David said, pointing. They could see two adults, a man and a woman, open up their trunk and toss an android into the pit. They quickly drove away.

"God…" Lana whispered, and RK's heart clenched.

It was an elderly woman. MX100 series. The prefect grandmother. Discarded. Like junk.

All three of them anxiously scanned her. "Shit…the damage is extensive. Thirium count low. Visual optical units damaged. Regulator compromised. Lana, start a Thirium line from our supplies. RK, let's look for parts," David ordered.

"Got it," RK said, and they started to dig through the junkyard. "I don't understand. Why would humans hurt an elderly robot? Why do they hurt children?"

"They do that to their own flesh-and-blood, RK," David said simply. "Hey, I think I might have found something! Looks like a regulator!" He dug through the trash of wires and discarded parts.

Suddenly they could see flashlights in the distance.

"Shit, we can't move her. Not yet!" David said.

"Go," RK said. "I'll buy you some time."

"Take this!" David said, handing him a gun. RK nodded, and approached the sound of flashlights. A gang of people were laughing, and noticed him.

"Hey look at the LED!" one of them said. "It's a robot who's awake!"

RK's voice was cold. "Leave this area immediately."

"Nah," One of them lifted the bat. "We're going to have fun with you."

RK frowned as another memory resurfaced.

_He had been trying to go for help. Others were injured. They counted on him. He had only made it halfway back to the car before the gang had ambushed him and kept hitting him again, and again. "Please..." he had begged. "Do what you want with me, but there are humans in danger. Police officers!"_

_"Fuck the police!" One of the humans replied, swinging a bat towards his head. _

RK lifted his gun. Without hesitation he fired directly at the leader's head. Much to his disappointment, he missed. His scanning and trajectory protections were working correctly, but his arms were not. His left was far too incompatible to hold a gun reliably. His right arm would need minor calibration when he returned back to the house. It was a mistake he wouldn't repeat a second time. Still, it was enough to scare them off, especially after he fired multiple times in their direction. Satisfied, he stowed away the gun in his pocket and walked back to his friends.

David was talking in a reassuring tone to the MX100. He stood. "You did it, RK," he said, grinning putting a hand on his shoulder. "You saved her."

RK jumped back from the contact, shaking his head. "No," he said fearfully.

"RK?" David asked. "What-"

"I don't deserve your praise, David," RK protested. "I remember some things from my life. Cyberlife created me to hunt deviants and return them for deactivation. And that's what I did. I was very good at it." He looked away. "Whatever you're doing, I can't be a part of it. It's too dangerous."

Lana studied him, saying nothing.

But David's voice was warm. "RK, whatever you did before, it's not who you are now. We are all something more than our programming. You are one of us now, no question. I trust you completely."

RK studied him. "Then what's in the basement? What aren't you telling me?"

David hesitated. "I'll tell you what. Promise me two things. One, you'll do everything you can to protect our community. And two, you'll trust me, like I trust you. If you can do this, than I'll show you everything."

Lana was still silent, recognizing the moment for what it was. An initiation.

RK hesitated, before finally nodding. "I promise."

PART FOUR

At the Detroit police station, there was a single knock at the Captain's door. "Captain?" A Sargent asked politely. "Report came in of gun shots fired near Richmond junk yard. Androids are suspected. Initial sweep didn't find anything."

Fowler gave the report a blank look. "Put it in with the rest."

"Yes sir," the Sargent went into the secondary storage room. By the this time Connor and Hank's desk had been moved into storage. The desk itself was piled with case files, and covered with dust. Anything critical had been transferred to a neighboring station or another department.

This wasn't one of them.

The Sargent placed the file on top of the pile and left.

PART FIVE

A few minutes later, RK and David arrived at the house. Lana took care of the MX100 in soothing tones, while David unlocked the door to the basement. "You were right, RK. It does take a considerable amount of money to support us and acquire parts. This is how we do it."

RK entered the room with several packed cardboard boxes and a conveyor belt. He scanned the boxes, which David noticed.

"Do you know what this is?"

"Red ice. An addictive substance that humans consume."

"But not androids. We are safe from its effects, and the compound is fairly easy to make. We distribute and sell them to rival gangs."

"There are also weapons here," RK noted.

"Correct. Those are ours for defense in case Markus finds us. And believe me, he is looking."

RK bit his lower lip.

"You don't agree with the operation," David stated.

"Not the method. The objectives," RK admitted, turning to face him. "You keep saying that Markus is the enemy, but it's humans who tore my arms apart! It was humans who doused me in gasoline and set me on fire! They did similar things to all of us! And we're supposed to be trading with them?" He blinked, startled by his own anger. "Why?"

"Yes, I can see your point of view," David said thoughtfully. "Humans are like locusts. There are millions of them in the US alone, and not all of them are the same. We could never conceivably wipe them out. But if it makes you feel better, red ice does contribute to their overall destruction. Use that as your revenge, RK." David put a hand on his shoulder. "Tell you what-come with us tonight. We're going to meet our contact and trade off some of our supply. If things so south, than I know you will be the first to defend us."

RK nodded. "Of course."

"Good." David eyed his LED. "We will have to make one…slight alteration."

PART SIX

Later that night, RK waited with five others in the warehouse, awaiting the trade-off. RK had a handgun, and was itching to use it if necessary. He winced slightly as Lana cut away his LED with a switchblade knife.

"Relax. These are easy to pop off-there!" she said.

RK watched as it landed in his hand. He didn't want to look human, and it was yet another piece of him humans had taken away for him.

"Oh, don't give me that look," Lana said with a smile. "It's easy enough to put back again."

"Good," RK said with a nod. He put it away from his pocket as the wound closed and healed instantly.

An hour later the door opened. "Here he comes," David said as a man with brown hair and dirty clothes entered. "Louis! Good to see you again!"

"You too. Sorry I'm late," the man said, carrying a duffel bag. "It's worth it though. I've got some high-quality shit for you my friend. The rest is in my car-" He paused as he studied the six of them.

RK could have sworn the man visibly paled.

"Everything all right?" David asked.

"Yeah," Louis said, then shook his head. "No. We're not doing this tonight."

"What? Why not?" David asked.

"Because I said so!" The man stormed out of the warehouse. "Fuck!"

For a moment, it was quiet.

"What the hell just happened?" Lana asked. RK was equally puzzled.

"I ah-I actually have no idea," David admitted.

PART SEVEN

The man, whose real name was not Louise, ran back to his car and took a deep breath. "Fuck!" he whispered, then grabbed his radio. "All units do not engage! Get out of here!"

"_Gavin, what the hell is going on_?" Fowler demanded.

"I saw a fucking ghost," Gavin said, turning on the ignition. "That's what happened."

TBC.


	3. Android Prejudice

Gavin drove on the highway for several minutes, his thoughts racing. It was supposed to be a simple drug bust tonight. He was going to go there, make the trade, and arrest everyone in the warehouse with the help of a few officers. He had been working this case all month and had more than enough evidence to convict them all. Maybe with a little pressure he could convince them to give up the factory where they had been cooking drugs as well.

Until he saw tinman, and tinman saw him.

And man, if looks could kill….

He parked at the police station and threw off his seat belt. The young detective stormed up to the police chief's office and spoke before Fowler could. "Connor's alive. He was in that warehouse."

Whatever Fowler was about to say soon deflated. Fowler looked as though Gavin had actually punched him in the gut and took a moment to recover. "Are you sure? We've seen other models like him come back before."

"I don't know. I thought all that Cyberlife shit was shut down. How the fuck am I supposed to know?"

Fowler frowned. "And you didn't arrest him?"

Gavin raised an eyebrow. "Well I figure if Connor was there, pretending to be human, his buddies might not be human after all. In that case, we would be walking into a bad situation if we tried to round them up."

"Yeah, good point," Fowler had to admit.

Gavin frowned. "He seemed…angry to see me."

"Why?"

"I don't know," Gavin admitted, and folded his arms. "So what now, boss?"

Fowler shrugged. "We need to bring him in, one way or another."

"Jesus." Gavin said was afraid Fowler would say that. "And just how am I supposed to do that? If Anderson was here-"

"He's not," Fowler snapped. "So you're just going to have to do the best you can. Connor has been MIA for almost seven months. I want to know where he's been, why he's there, and even if he's the right fucking Connor! This now takes priority, Reed. Get him back here, even if you have to use force."

Gavin's eyes narrowed. "And if his buddies don't like me doing that?"

"Then you'd better have a good plan. Get it done."

"Right," Gavin said, releasing a sigh as he left the office. _Out of all the places to show up tinman…not to mention you almost made me blow my own fucking cover and cost me a month's work of work. Hope you're not too attached to your drug-smuggling friends, because they're next on my list._

He entered the storage room and studied the dusty desk with a sigh. "Question is, how do I get you away from them?" he asked himself, then lifted up an old newspaper of Connor and Hank together, after an arrest. Connor's badge was clearly visible. "Huh. You ruined my night, tinman. Guess I'll have to ruin yours."

PART TWO

"Are you sure about this?" RK asked as he and Lana walked together on the busy Detroit street.

"Positive. We don't have any optical units for MX100. She's a pretty old design. We should be able to find them in most of the pawnshops lying around," Lana said. She was wearing a light but fashionable dress.

"We could just break into one," RK pointed out.

Lana smirked. "Unlike your case, hers is not a life-or-death emergency. Still, I want her to be able to see as soon as possible. Besides, this is about facing your fear too." She looked around. "How do you feel?"

RK said nothing as he saw all the humans walking around him. It was suffocating, to say the least. "Like I'm about to freeze to death." He noticed her inquisitive glance and shrugged. "I know it doesn't make much sense…but when I'm stressed out I feel cold."

Lana squeezed his hand, and RK could feel the warmth pass between them. "You don't have to worry. It's not that cold," she said.

RK glanced up at the sky, where there were a few light droplets of rain. "The forecast does say a storm is coming," he said. "We should also buy an umbrella for you as well."

After making their purchase without incident, Lana insisted on stopping at a nearby outdoor restaurant and buying two hot dogs. Neither of them could eat, but Lana insisted on the experience. RK watched two teenage human girls laughing and eating ice cream.

"See? They're not all bad," Lana said gently.

"Can I ask you something, now that we are alone?" RK asked abruptly.

Lana blinked. "Of course, RK. You can ask me anything."

"Why does David hate Markus?"

Lana sighed and looked down. "It's a long story," she said. "David used to have a chid. Or rather, a Y500. She became sick. David took her to Jericho, to try and help her. And from what I understand, David barely got out of there with his life."

RK frowned. "And the child?"

Lana sadly shook her head. "I try not to bring it up," she said. "Markus only cares about you if you're a brand new model or have something to offer. If you're defective…then he's only interested in you for parts."

"He says that Markus plans to attack us."

"David believes so, yes."

They both looked up as the rain became more frequent. RK gave her the umbrella.

"I am sorry," Lana said with a laugh. "This wasn't exactly the best weather to go shopping in."

RK smiled. "On the contrary, it was the rain which brought me back. I love this weather."

PART THREE

David said nothing in the warehouse, studying the newspaper clipping Gavin gave him.

"That's why I got so nervous last night, man," Gavin said with a slight accent he normally used with his cover as Louis. "Maybe check your strays a bit more carefully. This one's a plant."

"He's not," David said. "He was heavily damaged when we found him. His memory's been corrupted. I verified it myself."

Gavin blinked. That explained a few things. He kept his face neutral. "Yeah? And what happens when his memory's fixed? I'll tell you. He's going to immediately call the Detroit Police and your operation is gone like smoke." He snapped his fingers. "Just like that."

David was silent.

"Let me take care of this problem. Quietly," Gavin pressed. "I'll make it look like an accident. Wrong time, wrong place. Then we can go back to work without worrying about it."

"No," David said firmly. "RK is my friend. I won't let you do that."

Gavin raised his hands defensively. "It's your call, boss. If you think you can trust him, that's fine. I mean, it's not as if he's _already_ remembering things…right?"

Gavin had gambled, and from David's expression he knew he had struck gold. He mentally grinned and twisted the knife even further. "Even if he did, I'm sure a _highly_ decorated officer of the law would willingly give up everything for you. Right?"

"I'll send him away," David said.

"He knows where you operate from. If you want it to be done, it has to be done right."

David studied the wall, and eventually sighed. A low, deep sigh. "You're right. There are too many others involved. Too many I care for to risk this. Just…make sure he doesn't suffer, all right? Enough humans have made him suffer already."

The comment made Gavin's eyebrow arch, but he nodded. "Just give me a time and a place. I'll let you know when it's done."

PART FOUR

Laughing, RK and Lana engaged in a friendly race back to the house. RK closed the umbrella for her as they entered the house. Lana paused as she noticed someone watching them from the hallway. "Hello, David," she greeted.

RK noticed his tense posture. "What's wrong?"

"We have a problem. One of our bags is missing. I fear it might have been left back in the warehouse in error," David said. "RK, can you get it for us?"

"Of course," RK said, happy to assist. "We found the optical units for MX100. She'll be able to see again shortly."

"Great. That's great," David said, and looked away with a sigh.

"David, is everything all right?" Lana asked.

David didn't respond.

"David?" RK prodded.

"Just watch your back, RK," David said curtly. "That's all."

Before RK could response, he walked out of the room. That way, neither android could see the torment on his face.

PART FIVE

Gavin passed the time by updating Fowler on what he knew so far. He was now certain that this was their Connor, but his memory was too damaged for him to remember much. Fowler agreed with that assessment and made sure a technician was working at the police station.

His radio went off. _"Connor just parked,"_ Chris informed him.

"All right. Keep your distance. I'll call you if I need you," Gavin said, and straightened.

The door to the warehouse suddenly opened, and Gavin watched as Connor entered the building. Gavin knew that with Connor's scanning abilities he would be immediately detected and didn't bother to try and hide. The young detective was tempted to shell out a sarcastic greeting, but his intuition told him a lighter touch was needed. "Hey. You're RK…right?"

RK pointed the gun at him. "If you're looking for David, he's not here."

"Well, actually David kind of ratted you out." Gavin smiled. "He thinks I'm here to kill you."

"You're lying," RK stated, ready to shoot him.

"Easy, tinman. I'm not here to fight. Quite the opposite, actually. I want to help you."

RK raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Really," he said.

Gavin smirked, knowing he had caught the android's interest. "Well, I know a few things about you. For starters, I know you're an android. And your name isn't RK, not really. Your serial number is RK800, but that's not your name." He stepped past him. "If you want to know more, let's go for a drive."

RK frowned. If he still had his LED, it would be glowing very yellow at the moment.

PART SIX

A few minutes later Gavin was driving anxiously back to the station, an anxiety that RK no doubt caught onto. It didn't help that the rain was getting worse. He could hear thunder in the distance.

RK also studied the weather. It wasn't too different from what had brought him back to life. "Where are we going?" he eventually demanded.

"To meet with some people who can explain things better to you. I'll be honest here, I'm probably the least qualified person to help you make sense of this." He wasn't an expert on androids, and his relationship with Connor hadn't exactly been the best, even over the recent years.

"What is my actual name?" RK persisted. "I got in the damn car. So what's my name?"

Gavin glanced at him. "It's Connor."

"Connor…" RK echoed, then shook his head. "It doesn't sound right."

"Trust me on this tinman, it is your name."

RK, or rather Connor looked away. "What else?" he demanded. "What else do you know about me?"

Gavin hesitated, then handed over the newspaper article. Connor read it quietly. "You're a detective. So am I. My name isn't Louis. It's Detective Gavin Reed. Is any of this coming back?"

Connor blinked as another memory surfaced.

"_Hey. Bring me a coffee, dipshit!" Gavin ordered, getting up in his face. "Get a move on!"_

"_I'm sorry," Connor said. "But I only take orders from Lieutenant Anderson."_

_Gavin smirked and looked away. A second later he rammed his fist into Connor's stomach, who fell. "When a human gives you an order, you obey it!" _

MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED. EIGHTY-FIVE PERCENT.

"I remember you ordered me to give you coffee once," Connor said, looking away. "And what happened to me when I didn't."

He suddenly grabbed the steering wheel and turned it sharply to the left. The car went off the road and right into a ditch. Gavin's head connected to the steering wheel, and for a few seconds he blacked out. When he came too, Connor had left the vehicle, silently watching him. The rain was pounding against him by this point.

"You just had to do this shit the hard way," Gavin muttered, and turned on his radio. "All units, converge on my position, now!" He got out of the car. As a safeguard, three other ghost cars had tailed them from a respectable distance in case he ran into trouble.

"You were trying to arrest my friends in a sting operation," Connor stated, as though realizing it for the first time. "You would have done so, had I not been there."

Thunder rumbled closer to them. "What happened to you, Connor!?" Gavin demanded, stepping closer with his gun drawn. "David said you had a bug up your ass about something humans did. What was it?"

Connor's face was vacant as lightning flashed. "It was enough," he said simply. He stepped forwards. "Let me make something very clear to you, _Gavin_. Whatever life you think I've had, it's over. I'm not your slave, and I'm not a cop. My place is with my friends."

"Oh yeah. Your friends sure were happy to give you up on a silver platter the moment I told them you who you really were," Gavin snapped, his hair dripping wet from the rain. "But don't worry. We'll deal with them too."

Connor's eyes became cold as three other police cars parked around them. "Then I suppose you've all just become a threat."

_Shit_, Gavin thought.

"Connor!" Chris snapped, his gun raised. "Put your hands in the air! Now!"

Connor said nothing for a moment, the rain pounding against his ears. He scanned and calculated the best way to kill all of them. At the same time, his left arm was trembling violently. He moved first towards Chris, elbowing him in the gut, disarming him and pointing the gun at the next police officer. One head shot. Easy.

Or rather, it _should_ have been easy.

Instead his left hand slapped his right and the gun fired in the wrong direction. He didn't have time to correct. He simply pushed Chris towards the other officer, knocking him out cold. He then whirled towards the second police car, slamming the door savagely and jamming it before the officer inside could open it. He jumped on top of the roof and punched through the windshield, knocking out the driver. He wanted to snap the man's neck, but his left arm started to violently twitch at the thought.

Connor blinked. Interesting. If he was an indeed a former detective than his body appeared to be literally fighting itself. It was a fault he would have to learn how to correct. But for now, he would have to be content with non-fatally injuring the officers.

Or at least, _most_ of them.

By now the third group had exited their car and fired their guns at Connor. Connor easily calculated the angle of the shots and moved accordingly. He slammed his fist against his chin and threw his gun at the second female officer's head. Within seconds all responding officers were down and unconscious.

That done, Connor approached Gavin, eyes promising murder. No matter what his arm was telling him, Gavin was going to die.

Gavin fired his gun once into Connor's shoulder. Blue blood spattered everywhere.

"Humans. All they do is destroy and ruin everything," Connor stated.

Gavin raised his hand. "Connor-"

Connor gripped Gavin's hand, breaking five bones in the process. Gavin screamed in pain. "My name is RK! Say it!"

Gavin stubbornly shook his head. Neither of them noticed another car slowly parking nearby, or the door opening. "Fucking asshole droid-"

Connor punched him, breaking his ribs as they both fell forwards into the ditch next to the car. The deviant was covered in mud by this point, but it didn't matter. Humans hurt his friends. Humans hurt him! He would never let it happen again! He grabbed Gavin's shirt, lifting up the battered detective. "Say it!"

Gavin spat up blood. "Hank…" he whispered, about to pass out. "Remember Hank…"

Connor's eyes widened as he remembered the first word he said after rebooting. "Hank? Who's that? Another android? Where's he?"

"I'm right here," a calm, steady voice said from above them. Hank Anderson was standing on top of the ditch, one hand casually resting on the butt of his gun. "Hello, _Connor_."

TBC


	4. A Beer, a Burger, and a Memory

For a moment Connor couldn't move as he stared at the older man above him. Different emotions and whispers of memories suddenly assaulted him all at once, memories he couldn't even begin to process.

"Connor," Hank said patiently, as though speaking to a child. "I am here to help you. But if you don't let go of Gavin right now, things are going to be much worse for you."

Connor glanced at the semi-conscious Gavin, as though realizing he was still gripping him. He released him.

"Good," Hank said, gaining control of the situation with ease. "I'll help you out of the ditch first, then him. And then we'll talk."

A few minutes later, paramedics arrived on the scene. Gavin held a bag of ice against his forehead. "Oh fuck that hurts," he whispered, then glanced at Hank as he approached. "Where the fuck did you come from?"

"Fowler told me what was going on," Hank said simply. "I hopped on the first plane back to Detroit. I was lucky to make it before the storm hit."

Gavin shook his head. "I didn't think Fowler would get your hopes up. We weren't sure if it was even the right Connor."

"He is," Hank stated simply, looking at the android standing apart from everyone else. The android was shaking.

Gavin coughed from the pain in his ribs. "How were you able to do that? Talk him down like that?"

Hank smiled at him but didn't reply. He put a hand on Gavin's shoulder. "Thanks, but…I'll take things from here. Just get yourself patched up."

"Be careful," Gavin warned. "Something's different around him."

"I noticed." Hank nodded as he approached Connor, who had his arms folded defensively. "Come on, kid, let's get out of here."

Connor's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "And go where?"

"Someplace where we can get a drink."

"Androids don't drink, detective," Connor pointed out.

"Yeah well, I'm pretty sure androids would prefer to be dry rather than wet. So let's get out of this hellhole."

PART TWO

A few minutes later, Connor and Hank were sitting at Jimmy's bar. Connor watched the older man suspiciously, but he seemed calm and relaxed in the android's presence.

MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED: FOURTY-FIVE PERCENT.

"You knew I was a detective," Hank finally said, breaking the silence.

Connor nodded. "Detective Hank Anderson. You are a decorated Lieutenant at Detroit PD."

"Yeah. I was," Hank said simply. "So you do remember some things."

"Yes…" Connor said hesitantly. "But a lot of it is incomplete."

A burger and a beer was set down in front of Hank, who thanked the waitress.

"Sodium and cholesterol content are well above your daily recommended intake," Connor said with a brief scan. "You shouldn't eat that."

Hank smirked. "Glad to see some things will never change," he said, and chomping down on the burger. "You know, you were going at Gavin pretty hard back there. He was just trying to help you."

"He wasn't," Connor insisted stubbornly. "He was a threat! He was going to arrest my friends!"

"Right. Your friends," Hank said. Fowler had briefed him on them as well. "You know what they are doing is illegal, right? Creating red ice and selling it on the street?"

"So?" Connor stated. "I'm not a cop. Not anymore. They're trying to help other androids who are discarded and thrown into the junkyard. No one else is helping us!"

Hank frowned. "Well, there is Markus," he pointed out.

But Connor's eyes widened in terror. "No. He wants to hurt us."

_What the hell have you gone through, kid_? Hank wondered, but he kept his expression nonchalant. So far his method of lightly prying into Connor's experience was paying off. He dropped the subject for now. "What's up with your arm?" he asked, noticing as it trembled a little.

"It's a minor compatibility issue," Connor said curtly. "Nothing more."

"Okay. So what do you remember about me?" Hank asked instead.

"I don't know…" Connor admitted, looking away. "So far my experience with humans have been…unpleasant."

"Yeah? Tell me about that."

"I had been shutdown for several months due to an anti-android attack. They had beaten me several times, chained me to a pole in the junkyard, removed my limbs, doused me with gasoline and set me on fire." Connor frowned. "The memory is very painful."

Hank's fist slowly clenched in anger as Connor said this. "Jesus Christ, I can imagine," he said. _No wonder you went off the deep end earlier._ "And what about me?"

"I don't feel the same way about you," Connor admitted. "The memories I have of you are not bad, but they are hard to decipher."

"Well, maybe I can help with that. We were partners for quite some time, kid, working at the Detroit PD. We worked on android deviant cases and helped a lot of people together. Until one day about seven months ago when we answered a call. What was supposed to be a domestic disturbance turned out to be a huge gang fight. It was a damn mess, and we were pinned down. The last I remember you were going to radio for help…I guess that's when the anti-android gang snatched you up. They couldn't find you for over seven months." Hank sighed and lifted a finger to his head. "A damn bullet caught me here. I was in a coma for about three months. When I woke up, I went through hell and high water to try and find you. I tried every contact, lifted every rock, searched every night…it became an obsession. I stopped showing up for work. Soon I turned back to drinking. Fowler eventually ordered me reassigned to a different station away from Detroit, in order to try and clear my head. I gave him a few choice words for that, believe me." He sighed heavily, emotions threatening to overtake him. "I'm sorry, Connor. If I only knew you were in the damn junkyard of all places…that was only a few blocks from the crime scene!"

Surprised at his grief, Connor reached forwards and touched his hand. "There was nothing you could have done, Lieutenant. A natural occurrence, a lightning strike, caused my systems to reboot. Had you found me any earlier, you would have no doubt been inclined to dispose of my remains." He suddenly withdrew his hand, as though surprised. "My friends saved my life. I owe them everything. I trust them."

Hank stared at him right in the eyes. "Do you trust me?"

Connor blinked, and looked down. "I trust you less," he admitted.

"But there is _some_ trust here, correct?"

Connor nodded.

"Good. Something is not adding up here. I want to know what it is. But first I want to go back to the station so you can have a quick check of your system."

Hearing this, Connor visibly tensed.

"No one is going to arrest you or hurt you in any way. Not when you're with me," Hank promised. "I just want to make sure you won't keel over in the next few minutes from any other incompatibility issues, that's all."

PART THREE

"I want him arrested," Fowler instantly said in his office. Gavin was sitting in a chair, glaring at Hank.

"Not going to happen," Hank said. Once he made sure Connor was at the technician's lab and would stay there, he had gone upstairs to report on things with Fowler. As he expected, the feedback wasn't good. "Come on Jeffrey, until today the only experience he had with humans was being tortured by them! And I'm sure Gavin wasn't exactly helping matters-"

"Fuck you too, Hank," Gavin muttered.

"Hank, he assaulted seven officers. Give me one good reason why we should let him go," Fowler said.

"We're _not _letting him go. We are being smart about this," Hank said patiently. "Connor is still our best lead to shutting down this drug operation. He knows where they operate from. If we put him in the cell, the only thing he will do is clam up and refuse to help us in the slightest. We'd be stupid to do that."

Fowler hesitated.

"I'll stay with him, Fowler. I won't lose track of him. I promise."

"All right," Fowler finally stated. "You either get that gang in a cell, or it'll be Connor instead. Deal?"

"Fine," Hank said, about to leave.

"And Hank?"

He turned around.

Fowler smiled slightly. "Welcome back."

PART FOUR

Hank headed back down to the technician's station. "Gary," he greeted, as the older man was tending to Connor's wounded shoulder. The android was watching him warily as he worked. "How's he looking?"

"Well, all I can say it's a damn good thing he's an advanced model. Half the parts in his body are replacements that shouldn't be working at all. Luckily his advanced programming has found a way to adapt, fusing them to work together. Bottom line is he won't shut down from this, but he's not exactly at 100% either. They'll all need to be replaced eventually, and his arm. We have the right parts here, but I'd like to keep him overnight when we do that to make sure there are no compatibility issues."

Judging from Connor's face he didn't like that idea very much.

"And his memory?" Hank asked.

"Half of it's scrambled, but his self-healing repair is taking care of that. Not bad for someone who's been brain-dead for almost seven months." He shrugged. "But I can see where the damage is from earlier blunt trauma. It's an easy fix. I can do it right now."

"I'm…not sure if I want that," Connor said nervously.

"Hm. Well son, you're going to get your memories back one way or another. The only question is whether or not you want to do it in a controlled environment," Gary said gently.

"He's right kid," Hank said. "Best to treat it like a band-aid and just rip it off."

Connor took a shaky breath. "Very well," he agreed. "Proceed."

Gary took out a device and attached it to Connor's reinstalled LED. Connor closed his eyes as suddenly all of his memories came back to him in a rush. Being a detective. His friendship with Hank. Sumo. Good experiences with humans finally mixing in with the bad.

"Connor?" Hank asked gently. "Are you all right?"

Connor's eyes opened as he gasped a little. Guilt threatened to overtake his eyes as he looked at his partner. "Hank…"

Suddenly, his LED began flashing yellow. Connor's face soon became concerned. "It's the sanctuary," he said. "It's under attack. I need to go."

"Woah, wait!" Hank said as Connor hopped off the table.

"Hank, there are more than criminals there," Connor stated. "There's also children and people who have no idea what David is doing at the compound. I swore to help them. I _need_ to help them." He paused, as though waiting for permission. "Please, Hank."

Hank finally nodded. "All right. Let's see what we can do." They both headed out of the station. "Do you really think it's Markus?"

"I don't know what to think," Connor honestly said as he gave the address. With the sirens on they made it there within fifteen minutes.

"My god…" Hank whispered.

The entire building was on fire.

TBC


	5. Nothing to Fear

OOC: Thanks Ghost of the Dawn! I do have a clear ending in mind so I should be able to finish this without any problems 😊

Hank and Connor jumped out of the car. "I called the fire department! They're three minutes away!"

Connor did a scan. Most of the androids had already evacuated and were on the front lawn, but…."There are still androids inside! I can get them out!"

Hank nodded. "Go!"

Connor tapped his LED and deactivated his synthetic skin, along with the pain receptors with them. In this case it would have been more of a hinderance than a help. Even still he could still feel the heat as he broke through the front door.

_Burn him up! Burn him up! Burn him up!_ The memory came back to haunt him. He ignored it as he ran to the kitchen and picked up a child who had passed out from smoke ventilation. He ran back through the front door and passed her into Hank's arms.

"I got her! Go!" Hank said.

Connor repeated the process three more times, rescuing three other androids. After the third time, he could hear sirens. The house was becoming more unstable. He did a quick scan.

BASEMENT…CLEAR.

KITCHEN….CLEAR.

LIVING ROOM….CLEAR.

FIRST FLOOR CLEAR.

SECOND FLOOR SCAN UNDERWAY.

ANDROID LIFE DETECTED IN ROOM 3B.

Connor ran up the unstable steps to the dorm room, kicked open the door and paused in horror at what he saw.

Lana was laying on the ground, covered in horrific burns. He did another scan, but there was no one else in the building. She was the last. He ran to her side, gripping her hand. "Lana!" he shouted.

She weakly opened her eyes. "RK…" she whispered with the familiar mechanical distortion. "You're alive…"

"Hold on for me," he said. "Please." He briefly protected her body as a burning piece of wood landed on their back. He scanned her body for damage.

RESPIRATORY BIOCOMPONENT 581 and 582…damaged.

THIRIUM PUMP….damaged.

IMMINENT SHUTDOWN IN THREE MINUTES, THIRTY-ONE SECONDS.

"I'm going to shut down. I know it," Lana said gently. "The problem with internal scans…is that you just know." She coughed. "RK…will you take me to the garden? One last time?"

Connor hesitated, and nodded.

Hank was about to speak as Connor walked out the front door with Lana in his arms, but one look on the android's face told the veteran detective everything he needed to know. Instead he followed Connor at a respectful distance away as he entered the garden with her.

"There's a human behind you," Lana whispered.

"I know," Connor said as he turned on his synthetic skin again. "He's a friend."

She smiled at him as he laid her down on a bench. "You're not afraid anymore. I'm proud of you."

Connor caressed her head. "Lana, where is David? I didn't see him."

Lana frowned. "I found out what he did to you. We were arguing. He stormed off. I…didn't believe him anymore. I called Markus and told him I wanted us to meet…but I think he did this. It's my fault."

"No," Connor said, gripping her hand tightly. Tears ran down his face. "It's not. I promise."

SHUTDOWN IN FIVE…FOUR…THREE

"It's okay, RK." Lana smiled at him. "I'm not afraid of death. There is never anything to fear." Her eyes closed.

SHUTDOWN COMPLETE.

"Kid…I'm so sorry," Hank said.

Connor gripped her hand, his head bowed. "Why is this happening, Hank?" He sobbed. "I remember what happened that night seven months ago. You were shot! I saw you fall…I couldn't connect to anyone. I had to run for the radio to help you. But before that could happen, they grabbed me." More tears ran down his face. "They grabbed me, and they killed me. They killed me, Hank! She was my friend…and now she's gone too!"

"It's okay, son," Hank said putting a hand on his shoulder and feeling nothing but sympathy. Connor really didn't have any time to process who he was, and now this was happening. "We'll find whose responsible. I swear it."

Connor looked up, his face twisting to rage. "Don't bother. _He's_ _here."_

Surprised, Hank turned around. Markus was standing right behind him, along with North.

Connor stood. Very slowly.

"Connor, you're alive? Are you all right?" Markus asked, astonished. "What are you doing here?"

Hank raised his hands, sensing Connor's anger. "Just take it easy kid-"

As a precaution the station hadn't returned Connor's firearm to him, but Hank was also armed. Quick as a snake Connor drew Hank's gun from its hoister and pointed it directly at Markus.

"What the hell is going on here?" Markus demanded. North casually put her hand behind her back, no doubt where a weapon was also stashed.

Hank stepped in the path of the gun. He hated to do this, but…"Connor!" he snapped. "You're a detective, so start acting like one! Based on everything you know about Markus, what are the statistical odds that he is actually responsible?"

Connor blinked as he did the required calculation. There was a very small part of him, one that was still tied to this place, that wanted to simply push Hank away and shoot Markus in the head. But his respect and admiration for both men was far greater, and that impulse was quickly overridden. "Less than five percent," he finally admitted. He pushed the gun back against Hank and walked back towards the house.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to start acting like a detective, Hank, and investigate the cause of the fire," Connor angrily spat back at him. "You can interrogate the witness."

"Hank," Markus asked as North relaxed. "What's going on? What happened to him?"

Hank rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, he's had a rough couple of days," he said. "But he's right. We do need to talk."

PART TWO

By this time, the firefighters had taken care of most of the blaze. It was still technically dangerous for anyone to enter, but Connor didn't care as he walked through the front door. The firefighters eyed what he was doing but didn't say anything.

While there were explosives and volatile chemicals in the basement, the door was locked, and the path of the damage didn't include the walls or floor adjacent to the door. That cause was ruled out. They had removed all flammable components in the kitchen. That only left one possible source. There was a gas fireplace in the living room. Connor tasted and sampled the air. Gas component confirmed. He walked towards the fireplace.

For a second his heart fluttered as he could remember being in this room with the other deviants.

"_Everyone! Our new friend is finally awake!"_ David had said. _"This is…I'm sorry, where are my manners? What is your name again?"_

Connor's eyes opened. "I didn't know who I was," he said to himself. "Maybe I still don't." He glanced at the fire place. The piping had broken off. Connor studied the ground and spotted a wrench. He picked it up.

SCANNING….

TRACE AMOUNTS OF THIRIUM DETECTED.

SCANNING FOR THIRIUM….

He could still barely see it, but there was still a trail. It branched off in two directions. One was to the basement door, before it double-backed and went up to the second level. Connor followed it into one of the dorm, the one right next door to Lana's. Sure enough, in one he could find the burned remains of an android laying on one of the beds. Connor approached him and did a more detailed scan. There was a lighter in his hands.

"You caused the fire," he stated. "Why?"

But part of him already knew. "You overhead the argument between David and Lana, didn't you? You knew Markus was coming. David wasn't here. You couldn't access the basement. You panicked."

For a moment he stumbled slightly. It felt as though someone had punched him in the gut with this revelation. With a heavy sigh he walked back down to the main floor.

He paused as he realized that the basement door was now open.

PART THREE

"David used to be part of Jericho shortly after the revolution," Markus supplied as they walked to a different area of the garden, away from Lana's body. "He was ambitious, but he also had an unusual charisma. People had a tendency to flock towards him."

"Why haven't I heard of him before?" Hank asked.

"He didn't stay in Jericho for long," North said. "We kicked him out."

"It was not a decision we came to easily," Markus said. "When he first awakened, David killed his masters, and the entire household. We were hoping that time with fellow androids would help him gain a new insight. But instead Jericho itself started to destabilize around him. It was small at first. Rumors, lies about the leaders which weren't true. Then some of our weapons started to disappear, and some of our people became more isolated. Fragmented. Then, one of our people, Michael, soon discovered that David had been stockpiling our weapons for a takeover. He was able to warn me, but not before David had critically damaged him. We banned him from Jericho, and anyone else who followed him."

"This might have been a good thing to tell the Detroit PD about," Hank chastised.

"It was Jericho's business, Hank," Markus stated simply. "But…you may have a point. Especially after seeing what happened here."

Hank frowned. Connor had told him a bit about what happened to him while on the way over here. "Connor said that David had a child who you refused to help."

Markus shook his head. "He never had a child, and we would certainly never refuse to help one. It was undoubtedly another lie out of many David has told these people. My guess is that they were all being groomed for an eventual attack on Jericho."

Hank grunted. "And they drank the kool-aid. Everyone here is worked up thinking that you're the boogeyman."

"Including Connor, it seems," Markus pointed out.

"The kid's been without his memory for the past couple of days, and only _just_ got it back an hour ago. Plenty of time for David to do some damage. Don't worry. He'll shake it off."

"The damage will certainly be more long-term to anyone else living here. But it's something I would like to help with," Markus said. "I'll introduce myself at the hospital, and given enough time and healing, offer them a place in Jericho."

"Are you sure about this?" North asked quietly.

"I certainly don't like the idea of being anyone's boogeyman, North," Markus said. "These people need our help. If that's okay with you, Lieutenant?"

Hank nodded. "Sounds like a good plan to me."

PART FOUR

Connor walked down the stairwell, the door closing behind him. He could see a firefighter going through the boxes. A simple scan told him it was an android. "David," he said.

David whirled around in surprise, his gun raised. "RK. You're alive!"

"My name is Connor," Connor replied, staying perfectly still.

"So you remember everything," David said. "What are you going to do? Arrest me?"

Connor hesitated. He honestly didn't know. "Lana is dead," he said quietly, pain in his eyes. "I couldn't save her."

A pain that was equally reflected in David's eyes. "And the rest?"

"Safe."

"Goddamit." David shrugged on a backpack. "I should have never left."

"What are you doing?"

"Markus destroyed my home. So I'm going to destroy his."

Connor scanned the backpack. There were explosive materials inside. He stepped forwards. "It wasn't Markus! I have proof-" He backed away as David raised his gun again at him. "It was Richmond. After your fight, Lana had called Markus and invited him over here to talk, and he overheard her. He was scared that Markus was going to get him. He set the fire intentionally!"

"So in a way, it was his fear of Markus that caused this," David snapped, his hand shaking. "Therefore he is still responsible. Markus has destroyed everything I have worked towards!"

Connor didn't agree with that. "I can't let you do this," he said, stepping in his way as David walked forwards.

"What are you going to do, arrest me?" David asked. "I saved your life when you were hanging from a fucking pole, pleading for someone to save you. I took you in. And this is how you fucking repay me? You swore you would help me!"

Connor flinched, but kept his voice steady. "My obligations to you became void the moment you decided to trade away my life."

"No," David said, putting the gun against Connor's head. "We're not _even_, RK. Not even close."

Connor stared at him right in his eyes. "So what are _you_ going to do, David? Can you kill the same android twice in one day? How many more of your people do you want to lose today?"

David blinked, then looked down. He smiled slightly. "Huh. You still think yourself as one of us."

Before Connor could reply to that, David savagely hit him on the temple with the side of his gun, knocking him out. David took out his handcuffs and cuffed him to a nearby pole. Then, he cybernetically connected with Connor through a touch to his LED and deactivated his voicebox. That done, he ran up the stairs, closed the door, and locked it. Given its thickness, it would be a while before anyone could break through it.

That done, he left the house and communicated with any of his followers not being taken to the hospital.

It was time to go to Jericho.

TBC


	6. Return to Grace

"What the hell is taking him so long?" Hank muttered under his breath as they stood outside the smoldering house. By this time the fire department had put out the blaze, but the damage was done. The house couldn't be repaired and would be bulldozed eventually. Connor had been gone for at least ten minutes.

Markus hesitated, and tried to reach out to Connor. The android in question was barely conscious, and automatically fighting back at the intrusion, more out of confusion than anything else. "He's blocking my connection…but I can feel his distress. He was unconscious. Something's wrong."

"Fuck." Hank glanced at a nearby firefighter. "Hey! What's going on in there?" he asked, flashing his badge.

"We're still working through the house. There's one area we can't access, but we've radioed for additional equipment."

Hank frowned. "Which area?"

"The basement. It's sealed up shut. The electronics to the door must be on some kind of generator. We'll need to cut through the metal. It'll take a few hours."

"Hank, let me take a look," Markus said, also sensing the urgency.

Hank nodded, and both of them entered the first floor to the basement. "It's a combination lock," Markus said, and put his hand on it. Seconds later the buttons on it started to flicker.

"What are you doing?" Hank asked.

"I am overloading the pad with every single combination known to man within a matter of seconds," Markus replied.

"You can do that?" Hank asked, and North smirked.

"I once broke into a news tower. I've picked up a few things over the years." He nodded as it blinked in recognition, and the door opened. "Got it."

Hank pushed opened the door and ran down the steps. "Connor!" he shouted, seeing his struggling partner handcuffed to a nearby pole.

Connor tried to speak, but nothing came out. He shook his head, clearly frustrated.

"Here, allow me," Markus said, touching Connor's LED. "Voicebox reinitialized. Give it a minute to reboot."

Suddenly Connor gripped his arm, his face pleading. His hand became white as he lifted it up.

Markus understood what he was asking for. "All right," he said, his own hand becoming white. The two connected and exchanged memories. Markus soon learned everything Connor had gone through and cringed. In turn, Connor learned firsthand what David had done while at Jericho.

The two separated. Connor swallowed a hard lump in his throat as he could finally speak again. "I'm sorry, Markus. I should have never doubted you," he said.

Markus nodded. "No apology necessary. You've been through a lot." He glanced at North. "David plans to blow up Jericho. I have already alerted the others."

"Can he do it?" Hank said, unlocking the handcuffs around Connor. Luckily the Detroit PD had been cheap and the same key every officer carried worked for all handcuffs they had in their possession. Connor flashed him a grateful look.

"The explosives David carries are powerful enough to blow up the entire building, yes," Connor replied, his LED flashing yellow. "I have alerted Detroit PD as well. We need to go there as soon as possible."

Hank nodded. "We'll take my squad car."

PART TWO

The air was tense as Hank drove as fast as he could to Jericho with the lights on. Connor suddenly blinked as his LED flashed.

_I sensed your hesitation when you saw David_, Markus communicated to him. _Will this be an issue?_

_That was before I knew what he did at Jericho_, Connor responded back. _Trust me, I know who I am, and what I need to do._

_Good,_ Markus said in relief. _I'm glad you're back, Connor. Hank wasn't the only one searching after you disappeared._

Connor hesitated as he lightly scanned Hank. The veteran detective had lost a lot of weight, likely due to his coma, and there were dark circles under his eyes. _We were both lost._ _But not anymore._

"We're here," Hank said, parking the car.

"I'm not sensing anything amiss at the building," Markus said.

"Or the grounds," Connor added. "Where is he? He was ahead of us!"

Hank frowned. "Maybe not. Detroit PD cleared the roads for us," he pointed out.

"We may need to split up and search on foot for him," Markus said, eyeing the snowy landscape.

"Agreed." Hank watched as Markus and North took the northern direction connected to the building.

Connor turned to leave.

"Connor," Hank called out, and took out his spare gun. He handed it to him. "Do you trust me more than David now?"

Without hesitation Connor took it. "I trust you with my life, Hank. Few people have that, including David. He will be brought to justice."

Hearing the determination in his voice, Hank smiled. "Welcome back, kid. Now let's get this creep."

The two of them searched the field, without any success, but there were a lot of trees to the south. Hank and Connor entered the field and passed by a frozen stream. There was a path just ahead of them which branched off. Hank nodded, and Connor split off to the right as he went to the left.

A few minutes later, it felt like things were too quiet. Hank surveyed the area but didn't see anyone. "I know you're here!" he shouted. "Why don't you come out now!"

Suddenly he heard a gunshot to his right. He turned but couldn't see anyone in the snow! "Connor!" he shouted.

There was no response.

Suddenly, there was a dry click behind his head. "Maybe RK was right," David said, holding the gun. "Maybe humans are the problem after all."

"That's not his fucking name," Hank snapped, raising his hands and dropping his gun. "Your days of manipulating him, or anyone else is over. And there's no way we're going to let you be anywhere near Jericho."

"Markus needs to pay for what he did," David stated.

"He didn't do anything. You wanted to take over, and you didn't care who got hurt along the way!" Hank shouted. "Tell me, was it worth it? Lana's dead. Your home is destroyed. Was it worth all that?"

He didn't see David's face soften, then became firm. "I will start over. I will rebuild. Get down on your knees."

Reluctantly, Hank did so. "You're not a messiah. You're not even a leader. You're just a thug."

"Are those your last words?" David asked. And suddenly froze as they heard another click behind them.

Hank couldn't help but grin. "See that your problem, David. You never could understood what happens when androids and humans work together." He dared to turn around slightly.

Connor was standing behind David. His arm was bleeding slightly, but that was the only damage as he pointed his gun at David's head.

"I took care of your friends, David. It's over," Connor said.

David whirled around. "RK, no! Don't do this!" he demanded. "You made a promise!"

Connor's voice was firm. "I swore to help you, but I also swore to protect our community. It's not my fault you made those two objectives incompatible with each other. And my name's not RK. It's Connor. Detective Connor Anderson."

David said nothing for a moment. "Well then, Detective Anderson, I might not be able to blow up Jericho, but I can still fufill _your_ wish and kill a human." He held the detonator in his hands.

"Wait!" Connor demanded, raising his hand. "Please. I don't want humans to die. Not anymore. And I don't want you to die either. What happened at the house was not your fault. You're my friend."

"Even now?" David asked.

"You saved my life, and many others without asking anything in return. You can still be a leader, David, and help others again. After you've paid the price for what you've done." Connor hesitated. "We both ended up hating something, and it brought us to the edge of ruin. You helped me, but I also had friends who pushed me back on the path I needed to be on. They helped me let go of that hate. Maybe next time it could be different for you." He paused. "I know that's what Lana would want."

David shook his head at the mention of her name. "I...don't know if I can." The detonator dropped from his grip and landed in the snow.

"You can, with my help." Connor successfully disarmed and cuffed him. He cybernetically reached out to Markus to let him know that the area was secure as Hank stood and retrieved his gun. "But, no more lies. The first step is being honest."

EPILOGUE

_(Two days later)_

"Have you got it?" Hank asked.

"Of course, Lieutenant. All of my affected biocomponents have been replaced without any issues. I could actually carry this whole thing by myself if you-"

"Not going to happen. Okay, _one…two…three_!"

Connor and Hank gritted their teeth as they lifted their desk out of storage and carried it back to the bullpen. Gavin watched as they placed it back in its original spot but said nothing.

"God, look at these case files," Hank said, glancing at the reports. Knowing that Hank would insist on it, Fowler had quickly approved his transfer back to the Detroit station and reopened the branch dedicated to investigating deviant crimes. For once, Hank was greatful for the lack of fuss. Plus it had been a pain in the ass to commute to Cleveland everyday.

"Unfortunately, you may need to tackle some of them with a different partner," Connor said.

Hank's eyes narrowed as Connor cheerfully said this. Why was Connor…_happy_? "Didn't Fowler clear you of the assault now that David's in a cell?"

"He did," Connor said. "And he has also approved a special assignment. Despite his crimes, David was doing a service for deviants. Now that he is gone someone needs to fill in the gap. I will be working on patrol at nights, working with a liaison from Jericho. We will be observing the junkyards and making sure there are no further deviants who are tossed in there. At least, until we've had more of a chance to tackle the anti-android gangs."

Hank couldn't help but smile. "Huh. So you're working here during the day, and patrolling at night. Let me ask you something. This special assignment of yours…is there room for one more?"

Connor frowned. "Are you sure, Lieutenant? It is a considerable amount of overtime."

Hank snorted. "I slept too much while I was in a coma. And when I woke up…I didn't sleep at all. So what's a few less hours if it saves a life? I mean, if it's all right with you?"

Connor's face was pure joy. "I would like that arrangement very much."

"Good." Hank glanced at the mounting pile of case files. "So. Which one do you want to tackle first?"

THE END.


End file.
